Medieval and Early Modern Greek Manuscripts
We look upon the Greek as containing the Books of most Solid & useful Learning"
Humfrey Wanley, 1712.
The Polonsky Foundation Greek Manuscripts Project, a collaboration between the Universities of Cambridge and Heidelberg, aims to conserve, catalogue and digitise the medieval and early modern Greek manuscripts held across Cambridge and those in the Bibliotheca Palatina, which is split between Heidelberg University Library and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana.
The digitisation of the 432 Codices Palatini graeci manuscripts (29 housed in Heidelberg and 403 in the Vatican) has enabled the entire Palatine manuscript library to be reunited in electronic form, following the earlier digitisation of the Codices Palatini latini and Codices Palatini germanici manuscripts. All are now available via the Heidelberg digital library.
The 444 Greek manuscripts in Cambridge belong to fourteen different institutions – Cambridge University Library, the Fitzwilliam Museum and twelve colleges: Christ’ s, Clare, Corpus Christi, Emmanuel, Gonville and Caius, King’s, Pembroke, Queens’, St John’s, Sidney Sussex, Trinity and Westminster. They will all be published on Cambridge Digital Library in this collection, the first to bring together items from so many different institutions.
The Cambridge manuscripts encompass the full chronological range of Greek manuscript culture, stretching from the early Christian period to the early modern and ranging widely across liturgy, history, law, science, medicine, poetry, drama, grammar, rhetoric, theology and philosophy. Viewed as a whole, they bear witness to the enduring legacy of classical and Byzantine Greek culture and the lasting importance of Greek scholarship in Cambridge. There are texts of classical authors such as Aristotle, Sophocles and Homer, important biblical manuscripts and liturgical books of the Byzantine church. These volumes also have stories to tell about the collecting, studying, editing and translating of Greek manuscripts in western Europe in the medieval and early modern periods.
Conservation attention to each manuscript ensures that they can be digitised safely and helps secure the long-term availability of the collections. For most of the Cambridge Greek manuscripts, the only published catalogue description dates from the nineteenth or early twentieth century. As part of the project, all are receiving scholarly attention and new, detailed descriptions are being produced.
This cataloguing, conservation and digitisation project runs until 2021 and manuscripts will be published in tranches. For more details about the project, including blogposts detailing project activities and a full list of the manuscripts included, see the project webpage.

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Canonical and theological miscellany (MS Add. 1024)
The manuscript is a little Canonical and theological miscellany, elegantly written by the Greek scribe Konstantinos Paleocappas, … more -
Gospel book (MS Add. 1837)
This Gospel book, much of which is missing, appears to be a product of the Hodegon monastery in Constantinople in the 14th … more -
Prophetologion (MS Add. 1879.1)
This fragment is composed of four folios from a Prophetologion, or Old Testament lectionary, in majuscule script, probably … more -
Gospel lectionary (Saturday-Sunday) (MS Add. 1879.2)
This fragment is a quire of a Gospel lectionary manuscript in majuscule script, probably copied during the 10th century. … more -
Oktoechos (fragment) (MS Add. 1879.3)
This fragment is a single folio from one of the earliest surviving examples of the Oktoechos, a liturgical book containing … more -
MS Add. 1879.4 (MS Add. 1879.4)
This fragment consists of two small scraps of parchment bearing majuscule script, perhaps dating from around the 6th century, … more -
MS Add. 1879.5 (MS Add. 1879.5)
This fragment consists of a small scrap of parchment bearing two texts in palimpsest, a Greek lower text and Arabic upper … more -
MS Add. 1879.6 (MS Add. 1879.6)
This fragment consists of a strip of parchment bearing majuscule script, perhaps dating from the 7th or 8th century, which … more -
Septuagint (fragment) (MS Add. 1879.7)
This fragment is a single folio containing part of the Book of Genesis in the usual ancient Greek translation, the Septuagint. … more -
Wooden board (MS Add. 1879.8)
This fragment is a wooden board which previously formed part of the binding of a book. Pieces of waste parchment have been … more -
Codex canonum ecclesiae Africanae (MS Add. 1879.9)
This fragment consists of the end of a manuscript containing selections from the collected canons of the various synods held … more -
Vita et miracula Sancti Gregorii Agrigenti (MS Add. 1879.10)
This fragment consists of five folios from a manuscript which was probably copied in the 11th or first half of the 12th century. … more -
Loci communes (MS Add. 1879.19)
This fragment consists of a single folio from a manuscript copied in the later 10th century, containing the florilegium known … more -
Loci communes (MS Add. 1879.20)
This fragment consists of a single folio from a manuscript copied in the later 10th century, containing the florilegium known … more -
Menaion (MS Add. 1879.21)
This fragment is a single folio from a menaion, a liturgical book containing the components of services particular to individual … more -
Dialogus de vita Johannis Chrysostomi (MS Add. 1879.22)
This fragment consists of about half of a folio, which was probably copied in the late 10th century. It contains part of … more -
Gospel book (MS Add. 1879.24)
This fragment consists of two folios from different parts of a Gospel book, copied in the 13th or 14th century. One folio … more -
Marcus Mamunas' Symbolon paraphrase (MS Add. 1880.1)
This fragment is a single folio from an Evangelion, containing one of the few known copies of Marcus Mamunas' Symbolon paraphrase. … more -
Stichera Martyrika (fragment) (MS Add. 1880.2)
This fragment is a single folio, taken probably from an Oktoechos, containing the Stichera martyrika, a hymn sung during … more -
Antistoicheiae by Maximus Planudes (MS Add. 1880.4)
This fragment consists of a single folio, probably extracted from the binding of a Latin manuscript codex. One side, now … more -
Lexicon (MS Add. 1880.6)
This fragment is a quire containing a brief extract from the Byzantine Lexicon of Pseudo-Zonaras, also known as Lexicon Tittmannianum … more -
Letters (fragment) (MS Add. 1880.7)
This fragment is a bifolium of a manuscript containing the Letters of Libanius, a Late Antique orator and teacher of rhetoric, … more -
Boethius (MS Add. 1880.8)
This fragment is a single folio deriving from a codex datable to the 16th century. It contains some philosophical and rhetorical … more -
Akolouthia of St. Kyriaki (7th July) (MS Add. 1880.12)
This fragment is made up of three quires containing the Akolouthia of St Kyriaki Martyr (7th July). An ἀκολουθία is the collection … more -
Dialogue with a Latin teacher (MS Add. 1880.13)
This quire is part of a collection of fragments bought by Cambridge University Library from Constantin von Tischendorf's … more -
Poema 6, Grammatica (ll. 78-229 ed. Westernik 1992) (MS Add. 1880.14)
This fragment is a quire containing lines 78-229 of Michael Psellus' Poem on grammar, addressed to the emperor Constantine … more -
Fragment of a treatise on the Holy Spirit against the Latins (MS Add. 1880.15)
This quire is part of a collection of fragments bought by Cambridge University Library from Constantin von Tischendorf's … more -
Dialogue with a Latin teacher (MS Add. 1880.16)
This quire is part of a collection of fragments bought by Cambridge University Library from Constantin von Tischendorf's … more -
Three short texts in Greek about the Holy Spirit (MS Add. 1880.17)
This leaf is part of a collection of fragments bought by Cambridge University Library from Constantin von Tischendorf's … more -
Notitia Episcopatuum III, lines 136-204 (ed. Parthey 1866) (MS Add. 1880.18)
This fragment is a single leaf containing a page of the third Notitia Episcopatuum (ed. Parthey 1866). The Notitiae Episcopatuum … more -
Prayers in Greek (MS Add. 1880.19)
This fragment is a single leaf cointaining two Prayers in Greek, probably from a manuscript dating to the 17th century. The … more -
Theological writings in Greek (MS Add. 1880.20)
This quire is part of a collection of fragments bought by Cambridge University Library from Constantin von Tischendorf's … more -
Morning service of Easter Saturday (MS Add. 3121)
This pocket-sized manuscript is an example of a service book for the Holy Week liturgy for personal use. It contains the … more -
Table of contents of a Homiliary (MS Add. 4166.25)
This fragment is a single leaf, containing the Table of contents of a Homiliary, attributed in the manuscript to Xiphilinus, … more -
Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew (MS Add. 4490)
This fragment consists of two separate folios from a manuscript, copied in the late 10th or 11th century, containing a commentary … more -
Gospel of Matthew (MS Add. 4541)
This fragment is a scrap of parchment retrieved from the endleaves of a Hebrew manuscript, and contains part of the Gospel … more -
Codex Macedoniensis (MS Add. 6594)
Codex Macedoniensis is a 9th century Byzantine manuscript of the four Gospels written in a Greek uncial script. Its text … more -
Gospel book (MS Add. 6677)
This Gospel book was copied near the end of the 10th century or during the first half of the 11th. Its script, in the Perlschrift … more -
Sticherarion (menaion) (MS Add. 7216)
This Greek manuscript, probably copied in the 18th century, is a Sticherarion, a liturgical book containing hymns with their … more -
Palimpsest of Homer and John Chrysostom (MS Add. 7872)
This fragment is a single folio of a palimpsest manuscript containing originally a copy of the Iliad of Homer in majuscule, … more -
Gospel lectionary (Saturdays, Sundays and weekdays) (Christ's College MS 6)
This Gospel lectionary manuscript belongs to the fuller of the two main types, the "weekday" lectionary, which includes readings … more -
Act and Epistles book (Christ's College MS 9)
This manuscript is an Acts and Epistles book, probably copied in the 12th century and slightly incomplete. It is a relatively … more -
Euchologion (Christ's College MS Rouse 252)
This manuscript, copied in the 16th century, is a miscellaneous Euchologion (prayer book), containing a variety of texts … more -
Life of St Eupraxia and Passion of St Eirene (Christ's College MS Rouse 255)
This manuscript, produced during the late 16th century, contains two hagiographical texts: the Life of St Eupraxia and Passion … more -
Christian religious texts (Christ's College MS Rouse 263)
This manuscript, probably copied near the end of the 16th century or in the first half of the 17th, contains a selection … more -
Nomocanon (Christ's College MS Rouse 265)
The manuscript contains a Nomocanon in 277 chapters in modern Greek. The Nomocanon is a collection of ecclesiastical regulations … more -
Gospel lectionary (Christ's College MS Rouse 298)
This Gospel lectionary manuscript, probably copied in the 11th century, belongs to the briefer of the two main types, the … more -
Homer (Christ's College MS Rouse 358)
This manuscript, copied between the 1550s and 1560s, is the first of a two-volume set of Greek literary texts with Cambridge, … more -
Sophocles, Pindar, Hesiod and Aeschylus (Christ's College MS Rouse 359)
The manuscript is closely related to Cambridge, Christ's College, MS Rouse 358; both are anthologies of Greek literary texts … more -
Greek philosophical miscellany (MS Dd.4.16)
The manuscript contains a Greek philosophical miscellany, comprising treatises and extracts mainly deriving from Aristotle. … more -
Lexicographic treatises (MS Dd.4.63)
This 15th-century manuscript contains three Lexicographic treatises, and is known to be the only copy of the Lexicon Rhetoricum … more -
Lycophron's Alexandra (MS Dd.6.84)
The manuscript contains Lycophron's Alexandra (3rd c. AD), a poem in iambic trimeters characterized by laboured style and … more -
Gospel book (MS Dd.9.69)
This manuscript, dated by a colophon to June 1297, is an illuminated Gospel book to which a copy of the book of Revelation … more -
Theocritus of Syracuse (MS Dd.10.42)
The manuscript contains a late-15th-century copy of the first 18 Idylls of the bucolic poet Theocritus of Syracuse (ca. 300-260 … more -
Erotemata (MS Dd.10.55)
This manuscript, probably produced in 1425, contains the grammatical textbook written by the grammarian, classical scholar … more -
Treatise on the Astrolabe (MS Dd.15.27)
This manuscript, produced in 1584, contains the Treatise on the Astrolabe of Ioannes Philoponos, a 6th-century Alexandrian … more -
Chiliades (MS Ee.6.35)
This manuscript, produced in the late 15th or early 16th century, contains works of the 12th-century Byzantine scholar and … more -
Collection of letters in Greek (MS Ff.1.7)
The manuscript contains a Collection of letters in Greek written by individuals who lived between the end of the 16th century … more -
Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs (MS Ff.1.24)
This Greek manuscript, probably made in Constantinople in the tenth century, was brought to England in the thirteenth century … more -
Euthymius Zigabenus (MS Ff.1.26)
This Greek manuscript contains a commentary on the Psalms by Euthymius Zigabenus, a Byzantine theologian of the early 12th … more -
Commentarius magnus (in Psalmos) (MS Ff.3.2)
This manuscript, probably produced between 1628 and 1634, contains part of a commentary on the Psalms, whose authorship is … more -
MS Ff.4.2 (MS Ff.4.2)
This is a composite manuscript, all of whose portions probably date to between about 1490 and 1575. Its principal components … more -
Canon law (MS Ff.4.3)
This manuscript, whose production has been dated to 1563-1564, contains a series of religious texts. Canon law forms the … more -
Rhetoric (MS Ff.5.8)
The manuscript Ff.5.8 is a 12th or 13th century parchment copy of the treatise by Aristotle, Rhetoric (Ars rhetorica), on … more -
Texts on music (MS Gg.2.34)
The manuscript, written in the first half of the 16th century, contains three Texts on music: the Introduction to Harmonics … more -
Achilles Tatius, The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon (MS Gg.6.43)
This 16th-century manuscript is a late copy of Achilles Tatius, The Adventures of Leucippe and Clitophon, one of the few … more -
John Chrysostom (MS Ii.3.25)
This manuscript, probably copied in the 14th century, contains a selection of homilies by the Patriarch of Constantinople … more -
Introduction to Grammar (MS Ii.4.16)
This manuscript, produced in 1476 or 1479, contains the Greek grammar of Theodore Gaza or Gazes, a 15th-century Byzantine … more -
Epictetus, Aesop and Ignatios the Deacon (MS Ii.6.41)
This small manuscript is a miscellany, comprising didactic and ethical texts by Epictetus, Aesop and Ignatios the Deacon. … more -
Euclid (King's College MS 20)
The manuscript contains two mathematical treatises by Euclid: Phaenomena on spherical astronomy, and Optics on the geometry … more -
De utilitate mathematicae (King's College MS 23)
This Greek manuscript, containing a part of the second-century author Theon of Smyrna's Treatise on aspects of mathematics … more -
Life of Barlaam and Joasaph (King's College MS 45)
This manuscript, probably dating to the 12th century, contains the Life of Barlaam and Joasaph (or Josaphat), a Christianised … more -
Synopsis Basilicorum maior (MS Kk.5.11)
The manuscript contains the Synopsis Basilicorum maior, an alphabetically arranged selection of the imperial laws, with … more -
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (MS Kk.5.19)
This paper manuscript dating from the 15th century comprises a copy of Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War and three … more -
Lexicon of Pseudo-Zonaras (MS Kk.5.25)
This manuscript, produced in the late 15th century, contains the Lexicon of Pseudo-Zonaras, whose actual authorship is unknown, … more -
Music, mathematics and astronomy (MS Kk.5.26)
MS CUL Kk.5.26 is a miscellany containing texts on Music, mathematics and astronomy. The codex is a composite manuscript, … more -
Greek military treatises (MS Kk.5.31)
The manuscript contains two Greek military treatises, Onasander's Strategicus, on generalship, and Aelian's Tactics.The … more -
Byzantine chronicle of Constantine Manasses (MS Kk.5.37)
This manuscript, dating to the later 16th century, contains the Byzantine chronicle of Constantine Manasses, quite unusual … more -
Ajax of Sophocles (MS Kk.6.27)
This Greek manuscript contains a late copy of the tragedy Ajax of Sophocles, preceded by a hypothesis that coincides only … more -
Description of the Known World (MS Kk.6.29)
This manuscript, produced at the beginning of the 16th century, contains the Description of the Known World by the Alexandrian … more -
On the Sublime (MS Kk.6.34)
This Greek manuscript contains a 16th-century copy of the treatise On the Sublime, a work of literary criticism dating back … more -
Gospel book (MS Nn.2.36)
This manuscript, probably produced in either 1120/1 or 1130/1, is a richly ornamented Gospel book, equipped for the study … more -
Codex Bezae (MS Nn.2.41)
There are half-a-dozen ancient manuscripts which are the foundation of our understanding of the text of the New Testament … more -
Aristophanes (MS Nn.3.3)
This Greek manuscript contains two comedies, Plutus (known also as Wealth), Clouds, by the Athenian writer Aristophanes (c. … more -
Aristophanes (MS Nn.3.15)
This manuscript contains three plays of Aristophanes (ca. 446-385 BCE), the Athenian writer of Old Comedy. The three comedies, … more -
Aristophanes (MS Nn.3.16)
This Greek manuscript is composed of two separate parts, each with independent foliation, often referred to in the literature … more -
Aeschylus (MS Nn.3.17)
Nn.3.17 is a composite manuscript made up of two originally separate parts, each of which contains the text of three tragedies … more -
Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War (MS Nn.3.18)
This 15th-century manuscript is entirely dedicated to Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War, which recounts the war … more -
Treatise on papal primacy (Pembroke College MS 288)
This manuscript, probably copied in the 17th century, contains a treatise on papal primacy by Barlaam of Calabria, a 14th-century … more -
Life of Barlaam and Joasaph (Pembroke College MS 291)
This manuscript, dating to the early 17th century, contains the Life of Barlaam and Joasaph (or Josaphat), a Christianised … more -
Panoplia Dogmatike (Pembroke College MS 293)
This manuscript is the second part of a four-volume copy of the Panoplia Dogmatike of Niketas Choniates, completed in 1632. … more -
Panoplia Dogmatike (Pembroke College MS 295)
This manuscript is the fourth and final part of a four-volume copy of the Panoplia Dogmatike of Niketas Choniates, completed … more -
Gospel lectionary (selective) (Pembroke College MS 310)
This Gospel lectionary manuscript was probably copied in the 12th century, although it has been suggested that it is a product … more -
Contra fatum (Pembroke College MS LC II.232)
This manuscript, which may be dated to the late 16th or early 17th century, contains the treatise by Gregory of Nyssa, Contra … more -
Ptolemy's Almagest (Queens' College MS 32)
The manuscript contains Ptolemy's Almagest, one of the most important works of ancient Greek astronomy. The work is not … more -
Artes rhetoricae (Queens' College MS 33)
This manuscript on paper is one of the two manuscripts in Greek belonging to Queens' College, Cambridge. It contains a late … more -
Menologion for January (Trinity College MS B.8.1)
This manuscript, probably produced during the 12th century, is a Menologion for January, a liturgical book containing the … more -
Gospel book (Trinity College MS B.10.17)
This Gospel book was probably copied in the 13th century, as indicated by the style of script. This remains quite restrained … more -
On Syntax (Trinity College MS O.1.4)
This manuscript, probably copied in the first quarter of the 16th century, contains a Greek grammatical tract, On Syntax … more -
Michael Psellos and John Kamateros (Trinity College MS O.1.32)
The manuscript contains texts by Michael Psellos and John Kamateros. The two small philosophical treatises by the eleventh-century … more -
Lexicon (Trinity College MS O.3.9)
This manuscript, probably produced in the 12th century, is the oldest surviving copy of the Lexicon of Photios I, Patriarch … more -
Aelius Aristides (Trinity College MS O.4.3)
The manuscript contains a large selection of works by the Greek rhetor Aelius Aristides (ca. 118-181 CE). He was a leading … more -
Gospel lectionary (Saturday-Sunday) (Trinity College MS O.4.22)
This richly ornamented Greek Gospel lectionary, probably produced in the 11th century, belongs to the briefer of the two … more -
On Heroes (Trinity College MS R.9.20)
This short manuscript, produced in the very late 15th or early 16th century, contains the Heroicus (On Heroes), a dialogue … more